Authors: Liz Matis
“Well, if the Neanderthal could build a simple—”
“Neanderthal? Listen up your royal highness—”
“Cut!”
Victoria folded her arms and looked annoyed. Russ pointed to the door. “After you,” he said as he bowed.
She dropped her arms to her sides and stomped off. That’s when she saw Ava in the hallway with her hand over her mouth, trying, but failing, not to laugh.
“Did you see that? This isn’t working.”
“I saw everything. We need to talk. Alone.”
Victoria frowned. Did Ava know? “Upstairs.”
Ava followed her up the steps. Upon reaching the top Ava asked, “Well?”
“Well what? You’re the one who showed up here needing to talk.”
“Neil called me.” Ava tapped her foot and gave her the ‘you are so busted’ look.
Victoria should have called Neil back. “What time?”
“Three a.m. He was such in a panic, I almost raced over here but with Neil everything is an emergency.”
“No worries.” Whoops, she did not just say that?
“You snake you, you did him. And you were going to keep it from ME?”
She should just give it up. She never could keep anything from Ava. Victoria pulled her into the bathroom, closing the door. “Shhhh.”
Ava locked the door. “Don’t you shush me! Details. Now!”
Victoria spilled the condensed version. “You can’t tell anyone.”
“I don’t think anyone would care. You’re co-stars. It’s not like he works for you.”
“It doesn’t look good and add on the fact we had sex in the home we are designing, and, and he’s also filling in at the Down Under Male Revue.” She cringed, she sounded like Russ last night when he tried to defend himself.
“As a stripper?”
Victoria nodded. She couldn’t tell if Ava was horrified or was ready to celebrate with a round of martinis.
“Oh, my God!”
“Shhh, keep it down.”
“You did a hot Aussie stripper!” said Ava in an excited whisper. “How am I going to top that?”
“Ava, you did a prince.”
“A minor one and I do mean minor.” She outstretched her fingers to denote about four inches. “Any smaller and he’d be a princess.”
“Well you knew that going in,” said Victoria, referring to Ava’s special talent.
“I hoped I was wrong.”
With a sly look she said, “Well, you were right about Russ.” Instead of using fingers she used her hands to demonstrate ten inches.
“Lucky girl! Oh! Did he give one of those Australian kisses?”
Victoria sang part of the tune she remembered. “Do you come from a land down under? Where the women glow and the men plunder.”
“I want one.” Ava bounced on the tip of her toes like a five-year-old at an ice cream truck. “Does he have any stripper friends?”
Victoria laughed. “Ava, you are—”
A quick rap on the door sounded and Russ’s voice boomed, “What’s going on in there?”
Chapter 16
R
uss never liked it when women trekked to the bathroom together. It meant trouble. And not the good, fantasy type of trouble. At least she couldn’t accuse him of eavesdropping again. The door whipped open. Startled, even though he knocked, he took a step back from where he was lounging against the doorframe.
“Am I needed on set?”
He shook his head, peeking over Victoria’s shoulder to see Ava brushing her hair. Looking back to Victoria he said, “No, I just wanted to join the fun.”
He almost laughed when he noticed a jealous flare in her eyes. The woman couldn’t take the fire but she sure did enjoy lighting the match.
Ava turned her gaze from the mirror. “I’m surprised you have any energy left.”
“You told her?” he asked in a half-accusing and half-incredulous manner. Victoria was the one who wanted to keep their relationship hush-hush.
“That you’re a stripper?” Ava now stood behind Victoria. “Yeah, she told me.”
“I’m just filling in.” Damn, sometimes Americans were so uptight.
“Hey, you don’t have to explain yourself to me,” said Ava.
“You two should come to a show. It’s not as sordid as it sounds.”
“Not sordid? Now Russ, that’s just downright disappointing,” said Ava.
Victoria was silent and he wondered what was going on in that beautiful mind of hers. He tried to catch Victoria’s gaze but she was staring at the floor.
“Well, I have a meeting. Thanks for the afternoon delight, Victoria.” Ava winked at Russ and flew down the steps.
Victoria looked him in the eyes. “We didn’t—”
“Don’t ruin it for me,” he joked. Though he tried to imagine the two kissing, Russ couldn’t because he still tasted Victoria’s lips on his.
“Typical male.”
He blocked the hallway when she tried to slip by him. “Look who’s talking? You told her all of it, didn’t you? Just like a woman.”
“Ava doesn’t count.” The outspoken vixen turned into a sly fox when cornered with the truth.
He was glad she didn’t lie to him. Still, she wasn’t going to get off the hook that easily. “Hmmm, is that some kind of new American math I’m not aware of?”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’m sorry—”
“No worries,” he said as he brushed her cheek with his fingertips. “I’m not the one who cares if anybody knows.”
“It’s not only our jobs. It’s … it’s complicated.”
“I get it.” It was because he stripped. Because she thought he wasn’t good enough for her. Here he was thinking of staying in New York to see what developed between them. Good to find out now how she felt when it was just his ego being bruised and not later with his heart being ripped out.
If she wanted to keep him as her dirty little secret, it was fine with him. He’d enjoy what she was so willing give. When Neil returned, Russ would head out to LA where the women had to be less complicated than Victoria.
“So do you think we fooled them?”
“What? The crew?”
“Yes.”
“They either think we hate each other or were engaging in foreplay.”
“Foreplay?” she squeaked.
“That argument got pretty heated. I was one second away from throwing you over my shoulder.”
“You are a Neanderthal.”
“You had no complaints last night.” He leaned in like he was going to kiss her. “Did you?” As she leaned in to accept the kiss he pulled away. “Better not. Somebody might see us.”
The disappointment on her face made him want to pull her into the bathroom, lock the door, and replace the look with pleasure.
“We better get down stairs.” She tugged on her shirt and used her hands to smooth out the wrinkles.
His gaze couldn’t help but enjoy her lovely cleavage. “Yeah, we better,” he said slowly, rethinking his decision to pull away.
“It’s time for the sewing segment.” Her clipped, all business tone was back in her voice.
It was all he could do not to kiss her, make her breathless so her husky, playful voice returned.
Did she say sewing?
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“You’re going to learn how to sew. And act mad about it.”
Russ followed her down the stairs. “That won’t be a problem.”
***
W
ith the cameras rolling, Russ eyed the sewing machine skeptically while rubbing the stubble on his chin. “I don’t know, Victoria.” As much as he liked to tease by calling her nicknames, on set he’d decided to use her given name lest his favorite one, cupcake, slip from his lips.
“Just think of it as just another power tool.”
“A power tool?”
“Yes, like that jiggy thing.” She waved her hand toward Wood Working World.
“You mean the jigsaw?”
“Yes, except instead of cutting up something, you stitch two pieces of fabric together to make a pillow.”
“It’s still sewing. Not that I’m sexist or anything.”
“Of course not, who would think that?” Victoria rolled her eyes at the camera.
He guessed he deserved that. But men didn’t sew; it’s simply not in the male genetic code. It wasn’t his fault, and after all, Victoria did call him a Neanderthal.
“Look, it even has a really sharp needle that’s just as dangerous as that saw blade.”
He didn’t appreciate the trace of sarcasm in her voice.
“I’m not impressed.” He folded his arms in front of him playing the offended male. Though it wasn’t a stretch of his acting ability to do so.
Victoria gave him a friendly slap of the back. “Sit,” she demanded in the same tone as she did last night when she ordered him to lie on his back.
Russ responded the same in return. “Yes, ma’am.” He sat down on the stool in the front of the table. A smile tugged at her lips and he knew she was fondly remembering last night too. “This is going to ruin my reputation.”
“Well, at least you don’t have to wear those goofy glasses.”
“You mean as in safety glasses.”
“As in a fashion disaster.”
“Folks, I think I’ve discovered the real reason why Victoria won’t use power tools.”
“No, I’m the brains and you’re the brawn.”
“Then why am I sewing?”
“To get you in touch with your feminine side.”
“I can assure you I don’t have a feminine side.”
Russ was glad they were getting along, but wondered what would happen when the cameras stopped filming. Would she treat him like he had the Ebola virus so no one would suspect they were lovers? He tried to concentrate on her instructions. His large fingers fumbled with threads and switches, unlike last night when he expertly stroked Victoria into a rocking orgasm.
Her breast brushed innocently against his shoulder. It took everything in him not to turn his head and latch on with his mouth. Everything. So when he almost sewed the fabric to his finger he wasn’t surprised. Bloody hell, sewing was dangerous. No, it was Victoria who was dangerous. It was this woman who reminded him of an irukandji, a type of jelly fish back home no larger than his fingernail but packed an extremely venomous sting that he couldn’t handle.
“Whoopsy. Let’s try that again.”
“Maybe you should finish this up.”
“No, no, I have faith in you.”
Russ wondered if she was just saying that or if she really meant it. She placed her delicate hand over his and helped him guide the fabric. Her touch was light and warm but his heart tightened as if her fingers had turned into tentacles innocently floating around his heart before squeezing like a vice. Victoria’s faint rose scent reminded him of her thorns; however, she was surprisingly patient with him as he struggled with this asinine project. An hour and several takes later, Russ produced a passable pillow.
“Not bad for a bloke.” He held up it up to the camera. “Mum will be so proud.”
His dad wouldn’t be. His older brothers included. Hopefully, they wouldn’t see the show. And if his mom asked for a copy of the episode, he’d put her off as long as he could.
If his mates at the revue could see him now he’d be kicked off the stage. Brady was right. He was getting soft. Russ needed to do something manly. His first choice would be to throw Victoria into the nearest closet and pick up where they left off last night. But with the way he made Victoria moan and scream, short of gagging her, the crew would get enough sound bites for a porn movie. With that thought in his head his pride notched up of bit. He examined the pillow and then looked to Victoria as she wrapped up the segment. A wicked idea formed in his brain.
“Stayed tuned next for the big reveal,” said Victoria, in what Russ was coming to know as her TV voice.
Too bad she didn’t use it all the time. She could be prickly, uppity, and really deserved what happened next. Russ took the newly made pillow and smacked her full on the face. “That’s for making me sew.” Then ran for his life.
Chapter 17
E
veryone on set broke out in laughter. Except Victoria, who stood still as if the pillow had turned her into a statue. Did that just happen? The crew probably expected her to fly into a diva rampage. Russ was immune to her outbursts so it took all the fun out of it but she couldn’t let him get away with it. The only other option was to fight fire with fire, or rather pillow with pillow. She grabbed the matching three-foot bolster cushion she made earlier. This would make for really great TV. “Come back here you coward.”
Victoria ran after him through the hallway and out the front door, the cameraman right behind her. Russ stopped on the lawn and turned to face her with his hands up in mock surrender. At some point he must have flung his pillow away. Foolish man.
“Where did you get that?” He pointed to her fluffy weapon.
“I made it.” They were now dancing like two boxers in a ring.
“Nice work.”
“Flattery will not save you.”